Island



(No Model.)

E/ROCHE. BOOT 0R SHOE.

No. 495,373. PatentedApr. 11, 1893.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDI/VARD ROCHE, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

BOOT OR SHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 495,373, dated April 11, 1893.

Application filed July 5, 1892. Serial No. 439,023. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD RooHE, of

' Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Boots and Shoes, of which the following is a specification.

It is the object of my invention to provide such improvements in the construction of boots and shoes aswill relieve the user of the shock experienced by the heel striking the ground or sidewalk.

It is also the object of the invention to provide a boot or shoe with such improvements as will enable the user to walk with greater ease and less fatigue than with shoes as now commonly constructed.

It is also the object of the invention to provide such improvements as will render unnecessary the'use of a counter in the construction of boots and shoes.

To these ends my invention consists in insorting a curved steel plate under the heel portion of the insole which is left loose and between said loose heel portion of the insole and a piece of leather forming the foundation for the heel of the shoe, all as I will now proceed to describe and claim.

Reference is to be had to the annexed drawings and the letters marked thereon, forming a part of this specification, the same letters designating the same parts or features, as the case may be, wherever they occur.

Of the drawingsFigure 1 is a side view,

partially in section of a boot or shoe embody ing my invention. Fig. 2 is a similar view,

the toe being represented as broken ofi, showing a modified form. Fig. 3 is a perspective View of one form of spring or plate.

In the drawings a designates the upper; 12 the sole; 0 the inner sole; and d the heel of a boot or shoe, all of which parts may be of common or desired form.

The heel portion of the inner sole is left loose from a point just forward of the breast of the heel to its rearward end, and between this loose portion and a piece of leather 6 forming the foundation for the heel, I place a curved or bowed plate or strip of steel f, so that its upper surface shall be of convex form and constitutes, as it were, a spring for the heel to cushion the same against shock when the foot strikes the ground or sidewalk. This curved plate may form a part of the steel shank usually employed in the manufacture of boots and shoes, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, or it may be a short plate extending under the heel only, as shown in Fig. 2. I preferably curve upwardly the rear end or edge of the spring or plate, as at g to prevent the plate from chafing parts with which it comes into contact, and the said end of the spring is free, being unattached to anypart. The foundation piece e may take the part of the inner sole where the latter is left loose, and the heel part of the upper may be attached thereto as shown. The forward end of the plate may be attached to the sole by means of tacks, as represented in Figs. 1 and 2, or in some instances, it may be left loose. In all cases it is disconnected from the rear or heel part of the inner sole.

By making the plate or spring in the form shown it is made to occupya minimum amount of space so that it can be used on springheeled as readily as upon shoes having high heels. The yielding nature of the contrivance prevents the turning over of the heel, and, as a consequence renders the use of counters or stiifeners unnecessary. The loose character of the insole over the bowed or spring piece allows of the free operation of the spring.

The inner sole may be out partially across at the breast of the heel, and again at right angles for about one inch in order to allow the shoe to be sewed from one side of the breast to the other and permit the spring to be put in after the shoe shall have been completed.

In some instances I may place a metallic plate over the leather foundation piece 6.

I claimk 1. A boot or shoe comprising in its construction an insole, the heel portion of which is loose or disconnected from the other parts, a heel foundation piece e to which the heel part of the upper is attached,-and a bowed steel plate interposed between the said loose portion of the insole and the heel foundation piece, the rearportion of saidbowed platebefoundation piece, the rear portion of said ing disconnected from the other parts, as set bowed plate being disconnected from the forth. other parts, as set forth.

2. A boot or shoe colnprisingin its construc- In testimony whereof I have signed my I 5 5 tion an insole, the heel portion of which is name to this specification, in the presence of loose or disconnected from the other parts, a two subscribingwitnesses,this4thday of June, heel foundation piece 6 to which the heel part A. D. 1892.

of the upper is attached, and a bowed steel EDWARD ROCHE. plate forming an extension and an integral Witnesses: 10 part of the steel shank piece interposed be- HARRY F. OOONEY,

tween the heel portion of the insole and the E. D. MOGINNEss. 

